


Breakfast Club

by inkvoices



Series: Of Wax And Blood [6]
Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Accidental Fire, Community: be_compromised, Demon AU, Female Friendship, Gen, SHIELD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23617429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkvoices/pseuds/inkvoices
Summary: Sometimes we just need a little help from our friends.Like advice on how to show someone that you like them without setting their room on fire.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Sharon Carter & Natasha Romanov
Series: Of Wax And Blood [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/218651
Comments: 16
Kudos: 47





	Breakfast Club

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paperairplanesopenwindows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperairplanesopenwindows/gifts).



> Set towards the end of _unconventional tokens of affection_.
> 
> With thanks to CloudAtlas for beta-reading and much appreciated fanfic chats.

“So,” Sharon says brightly. She slides her breakfast tray onto the table Natasha has claimed in the canteen and sits down opposite her. “I hear you set the fire alarm off this morning. By actually setting a fire.”

Sharon wouldn’t say she was a morning person. She’d rather see oh-two-hundred hours as the end of her day than the start of it, which is to say she'd been as _delighted_ as the rest of SHIELD's New York site at being evacuated at ass o’clock in the morning and in _winter_ , Jesus Christ. She _would_ say, though, that she’s a glass half full kind of person. Deal with what’s in front of you, when life gives you lemons, and all that jazz. So since there’s no chance she’s getting back to sleep after that, an oh-four-hundred breakfast it is. Bless the staff who keep the canteen open twenty-four seven. 

She's indulging in pancakes and bacon with syrup, and a much needed coffee. Natasha, on the other hand, has a bowl of fruit and a bowl of muesli with yogurt dumped on top of it and… more fruit. She doesn't look all that cheerful this morning, but then who would with a breakfast like that?

“Definitely an effective wake-up call,” Sharon adds.

She knows she’s more talkative than most people, but usually Natasha doesn’t seem to mind. This morning, however, Sharon gets a small frown in response to her chatter. So it’s likely her comments rather than the unappetising breakfast that Natasha is - not uncomfortable about exactly; frustrated with a touch of embarrassment? It's hard to get a read on her emotions most of the time, but Sharon _teaches_ the class on body language and microexpressions. 

The vibe she’s getting is ‘mistake’. She probably shouldn’t pry, but of course she’s going to check that Natasha’s okay. As Natasha’s assigned Welfare Officer she probably _should_ have a conversation about how not to repeat whatever mistake it was, but Natasha rarely makes the same mistake twice and, besides, Sharon prefers being her friend.

“You know, I’m kind of impressed," she says as she attacks her pancake stack, focussing on her food and keeping her tone light. “Setting Barton’s room on fire. Not even Bobbi managed that.” She savours a mouthful of soft pancake, crisp bacon, and sweet, sweet syrup, giving Natasha a moment to chew that over. Then dives in with, "So what did he do?"

“Who’s Bobbi?” Natasha asks instead, stirring the muesli, yoghurt, and dried fruit into an unappealing mess. 

It's not that Sharon has anything against any of those foods individually, just that the mixing of them all together seems… disgusting. It looks like it’s already been eaten, part digested, and vomited back up, like a mess she had to deal with a few missions back. 

Great; a fun new association. Hopefully this is the minor kind that goes away soon.

“Bobbi Morse,” she offers in between bites of her own breakfast, trying not to watch Natasha eat but unable to avoid hearing the crunching. “Codename Mockingbird. Badass. Changes hairstyles more often than me. Remind me to introduce you some time, you’ll love her.”

They'll probably bond over beating each other up in the gym or discussing the most emasculating way to glare at a man. It'll be beautiful.

Natasha frowns.

“Why would she want to set Clint’s room on fire?”

“She’s his ex.” At Natasha’s raised eyebrow Sharon clarifies: “Ex-wife. Not that that’s _necessarily_ a reason to want to set someone’s room on fire, more that they split up _because_ they were in the kind of relationship that made her want to set his room on fire. A small fire," she adds as Natasha's expression slides towards protective. "Breakdown in communications causing fire-desire, no fires actually lit. Anyway," she says, circling back to the point, "what did Barton do that made _you_ want to set his room on fire?”

“He didn't do anything." Natasha glares at Sharon’s last forkful of bacon like it's personally offended her. "And I didn't want to."

“Okay,” Sharon says easily, “what were you trying to do?”

She looks away, scanning the canteen, while Natasha mashes her remaining cereal mixture into mush with the back of her spoon and finishes it off. She spots Maria Hill queuing for food and most of Strike Team Delta sat at one of the larger tables. When she looks back, Natasha is studying her.

"You didn't like what I was eating?"

"Sorry, no." Sharon smiles. She picks up her coffee, cradles the warmth in her hands, and inhales that lovely coffee smell. "It just reminded me of something."

Natasha nods and leaves it at that. The fact that she doesn't pry into things without an invitation, unless it's to understand them in a general sense and not a personal one, is one of the many reasons Sharon appreciates her company. Another is that the next time they eat breakfast together Sharon knows Natasha will eat something different, with no comment on the fact, she just will.

Sharon’s aware that some people are wary of Natasha, especially since she broke Kamiński’s arm in training and that Black Widow rumour started circulating, but even before then people were nervous. She doesn’t get it. This is SHIELD; they’ve all done shit. It’s like _Alice in Wonderland _\- they’re all mad here. So Natasha has a history - or a history that she’s trying to cover up, because Sharon is a _spy_ and there’s something off with the whole Black Widow thing – so what? Like there’s a single person in SHIELD who doesn’t have secrets. __

__“Clint doesn’t like being cold," Natasha says, moving on to her fruit bowl and stabbing at a piece of melon rather viciously. Then: "I read an article on the Internet."_ _

__Sharon blows on the surface of her drink to hide her amusement. Sure, an article on the Intranet, because that always ends well._ _

__"It said," Natasha continues, still murdering fruit, "if you want to show someone that you like them you should do things for them or give them gifts. I wanted to make Clint warm."_ _

__“...So you set his room on fire?”_ _

__That earns her a flash of exasperation and an eye roll. Sharon buries a smile behind her mug._ _

__“No, I got him a space heater.”_ _

__“Ah.” Sharon sips at her coffee, now an acceptable drinking temperature, and leans back in her chair. "From storage? Yeah," she says as Natasha nods, "there's some… not great stuff in there. Have you thought about getting him a blanket? Like, a big fluffy one? Or a sweater? Is there something he already likes that's warm?"_ _

__"He likes coffee," Natasha says, looking at the cup in Sharon's hands._ _

__"Well, there you go then. Get him a coffee. And don't, y'know, throw it at him or anything," she jokes._ _

__Natasha finds that funny, she can tell._ _

__"Should I be worried?" Maria asks, pausing as she walks past with one of the canteen takeaway boxes in hand._ _

__"No," Sharon says, putting on her most innocent smile._ _

__Unfortunately Maria knows Sharon all too well and clearly isn’t fooled._ _

__"And do I want to know anything about today's fire alarm?"_ _

__Maria’s using her Deputy Director tone, which means she knows _exactly_ what happened with the fire alarm, has taken one look at Sharon and Natasha’s amusement this morning, and has decided to make it Very Clear that she doesn't want to hear anything more about it or about any more fire alarms in future._ _

__There are times when Sharon treats Maria with the true Deputy Director deference she deserves. Four in the morning breakfasts are not one of them._ _

__“Natasha has a crush on Barton," Sharon tells her. "I mean, you like him," she defines for Natasha's sake. "It's cute."_ _

__“The answer to that was ‘no’, Agent Carter," Maria says, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand._ _

__"I'm not cute," Natasha mutters. She gets to her feet and collects her tray, stacking Sharon's dirty plate and cutlery with hers and sliding Sharon's now empty tray underneath, efficiently clearing the table. "I'm going," she informs Sharon, lifting everything to take it to the tray stacking trolley by the kitchen. "To get coffee."_ _

__Sharon finishes her own coffee, adds her cup to Natasha's pile, and gives her a double thumbs up._ _

__Natasha rolls her eyes but she’s smiling, with just a little upturn of her lips, as she walks away. Some might say it’s a disturbing expression, in the best tradition of a determined SHIELD Agent smile. Sharon’s proud of herself for putting it there._ _

__"Might I remind you that, as her Welfare Officer, it’s going to be your job to explain the birds and the bees when it gets to that point," Maria says, her tone desert-dry. “Maybe don’t be quite so encouraging.’_ _

__"Maria," Sharon says with a sigh, "porn was how we met, remember? We’re way past the birds and bees and sailing into the Sea of Feelings."_ _

__Maria shoots her a quelling look, which Sharon completely ignores because she’s having breakfast _at four in the morning_ and not even because she has a mission. Instead Sharon spreads her arms wide, still leaning back in her chair, and grins._ _

__"Barton?” Maria asks, giving up. “Really?"_ _

__She reflexively grabs the arm of Sharon’s chair as she tilts backwards, which is nice but unnecessary._ _

__"Barton," Sharon confirms._ _

__Maria sighs and lets go, letting Sharon rock the front legs of her chair back down on the floor and then push it away to stand._ _

__“Well, that would explain a few things that have been happening this week at least.”_ _

__"You know what," Sharon says, trying not to laugh, "I’m not gonna ask."_ _


End file.
